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French Environment Minister Brune Poirson called for a new European regulation on deforestation, thus becoming the first Environment Minister within the current Council of Environment Ministers to adopt a similar position. The Regulation should include a number of instruments, including a ban on all public procurement that could concern products whose production in some countries causes deforestation. In-depth control of the entire supply chain should also be carried out to ensure that all production on the EU market is traceable and sustainable.

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) has published an annual report on the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2018 on 08/10/2019. According to the ECA, the error rate for drawing CAP funds is still 2.4% (material error rate), mainly in the second pillar - according to the ECA, for EAGF direct payments, accounting for 72% of the expenditure assessed, the error rate was not significant. Ineligible beneficiaries, activities or costs declared and the provision of inaccurate information on areas or animals account for more than half of the estimated error rate under this heading.
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The food Company Unilever is committed to reducing the volume of plastic packaging used by 100,000 tonnes each year to a final value of 600,000 tonnes by 2025. This would be a 50% reduction. At the same time, Unilever wants to accelerate the use of 100% recyclable or compostable packaging. Over the past few weeks, Nestlé has launched a research centre focused on solving plastic packaging problems. Nestlé aims to use only 100% reusable or recyclable packaging by 2025 with minimal environmental impact, while maintaining food safety and freshness. Nestlé will focus on developing reusable packaging solutions, more easily recyclable packaging, alternative packaging materials, and research on biopolymers - materials that are biodegradable and degradable in the composting process.
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The European Parliament plenary voted on 10/10/2019 on the authorization of three GM crops resistant to pesticides (two types of maize and soybeans) and a total of sixty-three pesticides. The European Parliament has refused authorization of substances, the result of the vote is not binding on the European Commission, and the Commission does not have to respond to Parliament's opinion. Pascal Canfin (Renew, FR), Chair of the EP Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, said it was unacceptable for European farmers to be banned from active substances that continue to be used in third countries - a ban on the use of these substances should therefore apply commodities imported from third countries.
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Agrochemical Company Bayer is considering initiating legal proceedings should the European Commission and EU Member States decide not to extend the license for the use of glyphosate after 2022. France and Austria plan to introduce a ban on the use of glyphosate by 2022, Germany by 2023. The agrochemical company Bayer is considering initiating legal proceedings should the European Commission and EU Member States decide not to extend the license for the use of glyphosate after 2022. France and Austria plan to introduce a ban on the use of glyphosate by 2022, Germany by 2023. At the end of 2018, the EU glyphosate license was extended to 5 years, expiring in December 2022. According to the evaluation of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), glyphosate is not a carcinogenic substance.
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